Kabul says won't accept consular services from select Afghan missions in Europe

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The interim administration in Afghanistan on Tuesday announced an end to acknowledging any consular services from several of its missions deployed in Europe.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry in Kabul said the Afghan political and consular missions in several EU nations have refused to directly engage with the interim administration.

“Unfortunately, the actions of the missions are carried out without coordination, arbitrarily, and in explicit violation of the existing accepted principles,” said the ministry.

It added: “The consular services such as deeds, endorsements, NOCs, issuing passports, passport renewal stickers, from the (Afghan) missions in London, Belgium, Berlin, Bonn, Swiss, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway … are no longer accepted” by the ministry and other relevant departments.

A similar order has been issued for Afghan diplomatic missions in Canada and Australia.

Kabul asked the Afghan expats living in these nations to visit other countries to avail such consular services.

Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban interim administration has not been recognized by the international community.

Many Afghan diplomatic missions are purportedly still run by officials from the previous administration.